Environmental initiatives are increasingly used as a selling point in every area of commerce, and higher education is no exception. The Princeton Review recently released its fifth annual guide to “green colleges”, granting 332 institutions a green star. These schools tout initiatives like comprehensive recycling and composting programs; locally sourced food; sustainable energy; LEED-certified buildings; greenhouse gas mitigation plans; and sustainability-focused programs of study.

Introducing the guide, the Princeton Review cited its “College Hopes & Worries Survey”, saying that environmental issues are a big factor in many students' decision-making process. Fifty-four percent of the 10,000 Princeton Review college applicants surveyed said that having “a way to compare colleges based on their commitment to environmental issues” would “very much” or “somewhat” contribute to their decision to apply or attend. And another 7% said a school’s environmental standing would be one of the most important factors in their decision to enroll.

To what extent, however, do these results apply in the real world? Is sustainability really a primary concern to today's incoming freshmen?

The campus view

The Real Food Challenge, a non-profit promoting green foods in schools, works with hundreds of undergraduates across the country to shift school budgets to local and humane products. According to operations assistant Tricia Kiefer, many of those students confirm that they did indeed pick their college or university with sustainability in mind.

Some of those students enrolled with the express goal of pursuing a career in sustainability. Sophomore Stephanie Yee, for example, at California State University at Monterey Bay, helped lead a campaign that resulted in all 23 campuses in the California State University system pledging to commit at least 20% of their food spending to sustainable sources by 2020.

While some students certainly do put significant weight on their school’s sustainability commitments, traditional factors – academic standing, financial aid, location – still seem to dominate decision-making for the average student.

At the University of California at Berkeley, for example, a quarter of undergraduates take courses on sustainability, and more than 30 student groups are based around the principle. Yet Kira Stoll, sustainability manager at Berkeley’s Office of Sustainability, warns against presuming that correlation means causation. “Students pay attention to issues of sustainability on campus, but I don’t know if they specifically want to come here for that,” she said.

Johns Hopkins University features an impressive sustainability program, but Tracie Guy-Decker, senior associate director of marketing at the university’s Undergraduate Admissions Office, said that: “For the average student, I suspect our sustainability initiatives are not primary factors in their decision to apply or enroll.” Instead, she said the university’s prestige and the quality of education it offers likely take first place.

We asked a few students to tell us what they think:

Julia Alejandra Ibsen

Julia Alejandra Ibsen, a high school junior in Naperville, Illinois, says sustainability wouldn't be a top factor for her in deciding where to go to college, but might be a tie-breaker. Photograph: Julia Alejandra Ibsen

Julia Alejandra Ibsen, a high school junior in Naperville, Illinois, is on the hunt for schools that can support her interest in neuropsychology and behavioral sciences. “I want clear-cut, really good academics,” she said.

Ibsen also considers the school’s atmosphere and whether the campus is located in an urban area.

As for sustainability, “other factors would come first,” she said. “But if it came down to a final decision between schools that were just as good and I really didn’t know how to pick, then I’d probably start looking at how clean they were.”

Jamey Ryan

Jamey Ryan, an incoming freshman at DePaul University who hails from Buffalo, New York, says sustainability didn't factor into his decision. Photograph: Jamey Ryan

Buffalo, New York, student Jamey Ryan will begin his freshman year at DePaul University this fall. He based his decision to enroll primarily on a financial scholarship. He wasn't aware that his chosen school has an office of sustainability and said that it would not have factored in to his decision had he known.

None of his friends, he added, took sustainability into account when applying to schools either. “If I have to choose between throwing a bottle in the garbage or recycling it, I’ll definitely recycle it,” he said. “I care about the environment, but I’m not dedicating my life to it or anything like that.”

PageAnne Stephens

PageAnn Stephens, a senior at the University of Southern Mississippi, says she cares a lot about the environment, but didn't think about it when choosing which college to attend. Photograph: PageAnn Stephens

On the other end of the spectrum, PageAnn Stephens, a senior at the University of Southern Mississippi, does care a great deal about the environment. She recently participated in the school’s annual campus-wide cleanup and said that she grew up in a household where composting, recycling and using biodegradable products was the norm.

The importance she places on the environment is “actually really huge” and is “something I’ve been raised with”. Nonetheless, she had no idea that her school had an office of sustainability, and her reasons for enrolling included the university’s proximity to her home (she commutes) and a scholarship she received.

“Honestly, sustainability was not anything I thought about at all,” she said.

Rachel Nuweris a freelance science journalist who contributes to outlets such as The New York Times, BBC Future and Smithsonian.The sustainable living hub is funded by Unilever. All content is editorially independent except for pieces labelled advertisement feature. Find out morehere.